80th Birthday Dinner: Soyinka replies Rivers government

Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka has described as ‘abominable distractions,’ statement by the Rivers State Commissioner for Information, Dr Austin Tam-George, that the state would demand refund from him (Soyinka) if he collected cash from the N82 million allegedly spent by immediate-past Governor, Rotimi Amaechi on a dinner to honour him.

Soyinka, who reacted in a statement on Wednesday night, said it has never been his business to probe into the catering and logistical implications of the hundreds of recognitions he had enjoyed worldwide and wondered why the Ameachi gesture has become an issue under the insecure incumbent of the Rivers State government lodge.

Soyinka in the statement entitled, “Those who flounder in the sewage of corruption,” said: “This morning, I saw only the headlines in one or two print media regarding the 80th Birthday dinner to which I was hosted by the former governor of Rivers State, the Honorable Rotimi Amaechi, now Minister of Transportation. I ignored them. It was not, and remains not my business to probe into the catering and logistical implications of the hundreds of institutions and governments all over the world to whom I acknowledge an immense debt of unsolicited recognition over the years.